The Supreme Court docket on Wednesday protected Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa from arrest in a corruption case in regards to the 2011 de-notification of a housing undertaking proposal for center and low revenue teams on 26 acres in Bengaluru, allegedly to make “unlawful financial acquire”.
A Bench led by Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde additional agreed to look at Mr. Yediyurappa’s problem towards a January 5, 2021 order of the Karnataka Excessive Court docket restoring the corruption grievance filed towards him by a personal investor, A. Alam Pasha, whose infrastructure improvement firm had utilized for the ₹600-crore undertaking earlier than it was withdrawn.
The apex courtroom didn’t keep the January 5 order of the Excessive Court docket.
When senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Mr. Yediyurappa, raised apprehensions about arrest, Chief Justice Bobde initially responded “you [Mr. Yediyurappa] are the Chief Minister. Who can challenge a warrant towards you?”
The courtroom, nonetheless, ordered that “there shall be keep of arrest within the meantime”. It issued discover to Mr. Pasha.
Mr. Yediyurappa has raised the query of regulation whether or not “a courtroom can proceed underneath the Prevention of Corruption Act towards a public servant with out prior sanction on the bottom that he had allegedly demitted workplace which he was alleged to have abused”.
On January 5, 2021, the Excessive Court docket had restored the grievance filed by Mr. Pasha on the bottom that “no sanction for prosecution underneath the Prevention of Corruption Act is critical after demitting workplace or retirement of the general public servant”. The Excessive Court docket had ordered the case to be proceeded in accordance with regulation.
The desk of occasions started in April 2012 when Mr. Pasha, who’s the managing director of Pash House Worldwide Pvt Ltd, filed a grievance with the Bengaluru Lokayukta accusing Mr. Yediyurappa, former State Industries Minister Murugesh R. Nirani and different senior officers of corruption.
He alleged {that a} undertaking proposal to construct and set up “worth houses for the center and low revenue group”, producing employment to 500 folks, was permitted by the Yediyurappa authorities by way of a notification in July, 2010. Twentysix acres on the Devanahalli Industrial Space in Bengaluru rural district had been allotted for the undertaking. Mr. Pasha’s firm had utilized for the undertaking.
Nonetheless, the plug was pulled on the undertaking in January, 2011. Mr. Pasha claimed it was finished with an alleged intention to divert the undertaking to another agency for unlawful financial acquire.
Mr. Pasha additionally alleged {that a} letter along with his signature was cast to point out that his firm was not within the undertaking. He stated no such letter was rendered by his firm.
Additional, the grievance alleged that the 26 acres had been carved out of 4,500 acres within the {Hardware} Park, IT Park and Aerospace on the Devanahalli Industrial Space. The unique house owners had been ignored and ineligible claimants had been paid throughout the acquisition.
Subsequently, the Particular Choose had ordered an investigation by the Lokayukta in Could, 2012. In June, 2013, the Particular Choose took cognisance of the chargesheet and registered a case of corruption and issued summons to Mr. Yediyurappa and the others.
In October 2013, the Excessive Court docket quashed the case for lack of earlier sanction for prosecution of public servants.
Two months later, in December 2012, Mr. Pasha had filed one other grievance on the identical allegations. This time the Particular Choose dismissed the grievance for lack of prior sanction. Following this, Mr. Pasha had moved the Excessive Court docket towards the dismissal to win a beneficial order on January 5 this 12 months.
